Thursday

El Jueves, whose current subtitle is «The magazine that comes out on Wednesdays», is a Spanish satirical humor weekly, published in Barcelona since 1977, which constitutes the last survivor of the magazines that emerged in the so-called adult comic boom in Spain. Dedicated to criticizing current events, she has been involved in various judicial processes and controversies. The symbol of the magazine is a naked jester that traditionally appears at the top of its covers.

Origin of the homonymous publishing label, in 1996 almost 120,000,000 copies of it had been published . Since October 2013 it is the humor magazine longest-lived in Spain, exceeding the 1898 issues of the publication La Codorniz.

Editorial trajectory

Beginnings (1977)

El Jueves was born on May 27, 1977, during the Spanish Transition, with the subtitle "the magazine that comes out on Fridays", which would change from number twelve. It had been created by José Ilario and edited by Editorial Formentera, distinguishing itself from the other humorous weekly magazines of the time by presenting a format similar to the German magazine Eulenspiegel-Zeitschrift with its jester and the French magazines Hara Kiri Hebdo and Charlie Hebdo and for its greater proportion of comics, which made it (to a certain extent) a current and adult version of the bruguerilian classic Thumbnail. Soon, however, costumbrismo began to lose weight in the face of political satire, with which the magazine became closer to El Papus. In this way, both magazines

They popularized an uninhabitual type of humor based on direct and mordaz criticism, in the rupture of a series of old taboos and, in some cases, in the use of street language with great scandal of the traditional and biempensative sectors.

In this regard, his number 7 was seized, entitled Lefebvre splits into The Pope. During this first stage of the magazine, which covers its first 26 issues, the following series appeared:

Zeta Group (1977-1982)

In October 1977, it was acquired by Grupo Zeta and the design improved, with a color front and back covers. A fotonovela similar to Papunovela was included, as well as other series:

Professor Francisca Lladó, after consulting the data from the National Library, has highlighted the increase in readers she enjoyed between the months of August 1979 and 1980, as she went from selling 66,212 to 106,000 copies, stabilizing then.

A personal stamp (1982-1985)

In 1982, Gin, José Luis Martín and Óscar bought the magazine and began publishing it under the label Ediciones El Jueves, S.A. They sought to win younger readers without losing the old ones, launching series such as

Consolidation (1986-1993)

After the comic book crisis of the mid-80s, El Jueves appeared, for theorists like Jesús Cuadrado as "an example of a publication as personal as it was isolated, as free as it was repetitive". Its average circulation, in any case, went from 47,000 copies in 1986, to 66,000 in 1988, 119,500 in 1989 and 150,000 in 1990 and reached its record in the 201,700 copies of number 785, published in 1992. At Gin's request, some new authors were incorporated, such as Miquelanxo Prado, Antoni Garcés, Pasqual Ferry and Das Pastoras, all of them from the mythical fanzine Zero Comics, or the cartoonist Joan Vizcarra. The most emblematic series were those of Ivá:

Renovation (1994-2005)

In the mid-1990s, the magazine was affected by the successive deaths of Ivà, Miguel Ángel Nieto, El Perich and Gin, while (in Lladó's opinion) «its best-known characters no longer contribute anything new, neither ideologically nor with respect to language". The magazine was renewed, however, thanks to the incorporation of Manel Fontdevila and Albert Monteys to its editorial board, which allowed the arrival of other young authors.

In 2002, with the circulation stabilized at around 90,000 copies, in its number 1,299, El Jueves showed a caricature of Ariel Sharón with pig features and a Nazi swastika. April Shimon Peres, Israeli Foreign Minister, put her up as an example of neo-antisemitism in Europe during the Euro-Mediterranean Conference held in Valencia. Due to the exposure of that cover in front of the cameras by Peres, the magazine appeared in the media around the world.

2005 was also the year in which the first series starring a homosexual character was published: Pepe Gay by Guillermo.

RBA (2006-present)

In 2006, Albert Monteys, one of its new authors, was appointed director of the magazine and for the first time it obtained the award for best magazine at the Salón del Cómic de Barcelona. In December, the RBA publishing group acquired 60% of the label.

On July 18, 2007, the cover of its number 1573 featured a caricature of the then Princes of Asturias, having sexual relations, which led to the kidnapping of the publication and a fine to its two cartoonists by the Justice.

In January 2011, Maite Quílez became the new director of the publication. The circulation goes from one hundred thousand to 95,000 copies She collaborates with the Gin Foundation, in the organization of the Gin graphic humor Contest.

On October 16, 2013, it reached its number 1,899, surpassing the 1,898 issues of the magazine La Codorniz and thus becoming the longest-running satirical magazine in the history of Spain.

In June 2014, fourteen of its authors (Paco Alcázar, Manuel Bartual, Manel Fontdevila, Albert Monteys and Bernardo Vergara, among them) left the magazine after the RBA editorial did not allow publishing a cover that made reference to the abdication of Juan Carlos I. The editorial, at first, denied having received pressure from Zarzuela and argued that the change of cover and the delay in the release of the magazine (which arrived at the kiosks a day later than usual) had been due to technical problems. However, other sources claimed that 60,000 copies had been printed by the time the order to replace the cover was given. New series replaced the closed ones:

The magazine thus faces a forced renovation, which includes the incorporation of new firms and the consolidation of younger cartoonists, including Igor, Raúl Salazar, Juanjo Cuerda, Ivanper, Furillo, Dani Gove, Guzmán, Ricardo Pilgrim, Danide, Terán or Irene Márquez. Under the direction of Guille (Guillermo Martínez-Vela) the magazine faces the challenge of remaining among the best-selling paper publications in Spain at times of general decline of the paper press. To do this, it combines the incorporation of veteran firms in the field of the press, such as Eneko or Kap, with the discovery of new values, the incorporation of female cartoonists being especially significant, with firms such as Maribel Carod, Camille Vannier, Rocío Vidal, Arhoa Travé, Marta Massana, or Raquel Gu.

In January 2023 it was announced that, due to the increase in the cost of paper, the periodicity of the magazine would go from weekly to monthly starting in February of the same year. This change in periodicity is accompanied by an increase in the number of pages.

Content

The weekly publication has 68 pages, twenty of them dedicated to political, economic or social news, in the form of jokes or strips and always in a satirical tone, and the rest, to the series of the different characters.

Exemplar on Thursday

Characteristically, the cover is always about a hot topic and is designed by one of the magazine's contributing cartoonists. There is also a section entitled We had + covers, which offers eight alternative designs for the cover on a double page, also made by the different collaborators.

The Editorial analyzes the current issue on the cover with the usual humorous and sarcastic tone, accompanied by a small drawing of the jester, mascot and symbol of the magazine, represented in such a way that relates to the topic of the text.

The central double page is usually a Poster with the caricature of a public figure made in the peculiar style of Joan Vizcarra.

He criticizes many institutions, organizations and protagonists on the Spanish and international scene, with special emphasis on the typically conservative ones, such as the Spanish monarchy; right-wing political parties, or the Catholic religion, presenting series such as Martínez el facha, Obispo Morales or My God! in this regard. Those that affect sexual eschatology are also classic, such as Clara... at night or Puticlub.

The series are, however, very varied and there are even surreal ones like Grunts in the desert or Radioactive dandruff. Many of the most recent are linked to the lives of young people, such as La parejita, S.A., opting for a friendly costumbrismo.

Every three months an extra edition of between 98 and 124 pages is published on a specific topic, which can range from the Moscow Olympics to the tabloids.

Other sections

Other sections have passed through the magazine throughout its long history, in addition to those mentioned above:

• Nonotice: five pages with small vignettes and texts relating to some news of the week, usually those that for recent years have not been included in the cover or in the current analysis sections of the beginning, counted sarcasticly. There are also three subsections within this section:
  • Single Pisito: Guillermo's comic strip starring a Jaime de Marichalar who, recently divorced, must face his new single life, in which different comical situations occur. It usually appears inside the Nonotist, although it does not always.
  • The sinister memory: text signed by Carmelo del Catalejo in which he contrasts past and present divergent statements of some famous character, generally (although not always) of the political sphere.
• The asshole of the week: vignette not always signed by the same sketch artist dedicated to a featured character during the week by some statement or act judged by the magazine as critical.
• The question of the week: section in which a magazine collaborator explains some question of difficult explanation in a clear and fun way.
• Serious press reviews: collection of several real but amazing headlines appeared in the press. The strangers are surrounded by a red circle, and sometimes others are framed in a yellow frame with the title "the supertitular"/"the supernotice" if it is a news of notorious irrelevance or "the day and night of the [day of the news in question]" if it is two or more headlines appeared in newspapers of different political tendency and that, as a result, are evidently divergent.
• Gallery vips (Guillermo): comic strip whose cartoons imitated jail cells in which they appeared in various comical situations generally related to topical themes various popular characters of Spanish society currently imprisoned: Julián Muñoz, Iñaki de Juana, Farruquito, etc. In the last vignette, called the "cell of punishment", a different character appeared every week, usually an anonymous character drawn with melena and beard populated and tortured with some artilugio, which explained the reason for his imprisonment, something never criminalized but that, for going against the current direction of the majority of society, appears exaggerated as a very serious crime.
• It happened near your house (Carlös): page with six cartoons in which the author showed different comic situations derived from a theme with a black, wild, irreverent humor and many times with bloody scenes. Later called Hot Dog. Now it's still appearing but it's repeated editions called 6 magnesium flashes. In his last number to date, Carlös announced that his break would be temporary, so the series is likely to return.
• What never comes out on TV (Azagra): a complete page with a series of small vignettes with news, calls and diverse demands of the field of the left.
• Money (Miguel Brieva): large half-page vignette in which you imagine a fiercely capitalist and consumerist future world in a strongly sarcastic tone.
• Teletype (Pepe Colubi): three or four texts in which the news of the television world is analyzed, with a caricature made by Carbajo of some character spoken in the texts.
• Garrote Vil (Carlös): half a page where a drawing is given and readers are challenged to put subtitles as in "It happened near your home". In the first vineyard the previous winner appears and in the second the proposal of the week.
• Family: two pages with letters from readers, photographs of tourists showing the magazine somewhere in the world, etc.
• Forges Story (Forges): page drawn by Forges with its peculiar and popular style.
• 6 magnesium flashes (Carlös): page with six cartoons in which the author shows different comic situations derived from a theme with a black, wild, irreverent humor and many times with bloody scenes.
• Mail trash: selection of photos and funny texts extracted from the Internet.
• Grancircomundial (Lopez Rubiño): a full page with four vineyards on a given theme.
• The final guide: three pages on some topic not always of actuality and not always carried out by the same sketch artist who close the magazine.
• Gas of laughter: several authors
• 5 rounds: Mel
• Manda Güevos! (Edgar Cantero/Escuin): pages that remind a newspaper whose news stands out for its evident surreal content.
• The Thursday News (Joan Ferrús/Modgi/Santi Orúe/Proscojoncio): A classic periodical parody in which a review is carried out at present from an acid and sarcastic point of view.
• Crazy O.R. (Juanjo Cuerda): section of reasonable resemblances.
• The Guillotine (Isaac Rosa/Juanjo Cuerda): article of opinion written by Isaac Rosa and illustrated by Juanjo Cuerda.
• Juevflix (Santi Orúe): Parisian photomontages of current film posters with current characters as protagonists.

Moncloa Palace

In 2008 they created their first virtual cartoon made in digital cartoon format, called Moncloa Palace (Palacio de la Moncloa in Spanish). The comic is a parody of the recent political situation in Spain, especially regarding the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (and, since 2011, that of Mariano Rajoy), in fact the main character of the series is inspired by them. It is set in a building that imitates the Palacio de la Moncloa where the President of the Government exercises his functions advised by his ministers and where from time to time there are appearances of international political figures like some other characters. The animated series shows a president (José Luis or Mariano) who is very crazy, proposing solutions that are unrealizable or far from reality for the problems that the country is experiencing. Likewise, unusual situations occur that ridicule the ruler and those close to him at times. He also experiences embarrassing situations caused by others, such as assaults or assassination attempts.

Controversies

1977

In 1977, number 7, titled "Lefebvre splits with the Pope", whose cover referred to Marcel Lefebvre and Pope Paul VI, was seized.

2006

In the case of the Muhammad cartoons, El Jueves practiced self-censorship, titling the cover of its issue 1498 with the phrase We were going to draw Muhammad... But we got lost! shit!. Six years later, and before the Islamist riots of September of that year, El Jueves played with ambiguity by presenting various archetypal Muslims on the front page posing in a police line-up under the title «But... Does anyone know what Muhammad looks like?"

2007

Guillermo, the author of the convicted cover in 2007, at the departure of the National Court

On July 18, 2007, the cover of issue 1573 featured a cartoon of the Prince and Princess of Asturias having sexual relations. Two days later, by order of Juan del Olmo, judge of the National Court, the magazine was withdrawn, describing the cover in the court order as "clearly denigrating and objectively infamous". The author, for his part, affirms that " the best thing is that they cut off my right hand", that nowhere on the cover "does it say that the drawings are by Felipe and Letizia", that "whom I have drawn are Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes" and that the decision For his part, the director of Jueves stated that "our idea was to make fun of Zapatero's electoral measure and the 2,500 euros." On November 13, 2007, The judge sentenced each of the cartoonists to pay a fine of 3,000 euros after convicting them of the crime of insulting the crown prince, provided for in article 491.1 of the Penal Code. Because of this, its subtitle changed to "the magazine that hijacks Fridays" (from number 1575 to 1590) and "the magazine that condemns Tuesdays" (number 1591).

The legal fight continues at the European Court of Human Rights.

2014

Number 1932, from June 2014, hit the streets a day later than usual after changing the planned cover in the print edition, which appeared on the web and in the first digital edition of this issue of the magazine. The cover, made by Manel Fontdevila on the occasion of the abdication of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, was present on the El Jueves website, on social networks and in the first hours of the digital edition. However, on Wednesday the magazine did not reach the newsstands and the cover of Manel Fontdevila was completely removed from the El Jueves website and replaced by a previous one on Pablo Iglesias, leader of Podemos, which, According to the director's own words, it was going to go inside, in the section “we had more covers”. The official version was of an error when printing the covers, but news soon began to appear with other information. The digital newspaper ElDiario.es published that 60,000 copies already printed had been destroyed and that the decision to change the cover had published a conflict between some collaborators of the magazine and its editorial. Regular collaborators, such as Albert Monteys or Manuel Bartual, cited this news as true on social networks. On Thursday night, June 5, several of the magazine's main collaborators had already announced on social networks that they were leaving it because of this scandal, including Fontdevila, Monteys, Bartual, Rosa, Guillermo, Alcázar, Vergara and Bustos.

The cartoonists who left the magazine ended up creating a new one with the name Pride and Satisfaction, monthly and in digital format. In January 2017, the new digital magazine announced its closure at the end of of that same year due to not reaching the necessary subscriptions to maintain the magazine.

2016

On May 11, 2016, Mayte Quílez, director of the magazine, suffered an assault at the door of her house the same day that El Jueves published a cover with the title «Plague of Nazis. The extreme right is growing in Europe." Quílez left the magazine in June, after reaching an agreement with the publisher. She had been director of the magazine since 2011 and had worked in the newsroom since it was founded in 1977.

2017

On February 22, 2017, after the sentence of the Nóos case was published, which determined a prison sentence of six years and three months for Iñaki Urdangarin, El Jueves published a cover on which he himself appeared Urdangarin and the Infanta Cristina de Borbón having sexual relations in prison. The front page headline read: The Infanta will go to jail. But she only to the vis a vis . This cover was reminiscent of the one that 10 years ago was withdrawn and condemned by order of the National Court. On this occasion, although the cover captured the attention of numerous media and was even negatively assessed by the lawyer of the Infanta Cristina, its appearance in points of sale did not suffer any setbacks.

In November, the Investigating Court number 20 of Barcelona indicted Guille (Guillermo Martínez-Vela) and Joan Ferrús, director and deputy director respectively of the magazine, for an alleged offense of insults after a complaint by the National Police Force for a article published on the publication's website. A few days later, more than a hundred humorists signed a manifesto with the name Threatened Humor against harassment and the limits that are being attempted to place the profession. In May 2018, the investigating judge reported to the prosecutor's office to present an indictment, having appreciated evidence of crime in said article; however, the Barcelona Court ended up filing considering that the article was a simple exercise of freedom of expression.

2021

In July 2021, the magazine published some cartoons parodying the 1980s sticker collection La pandilla basura under the name La pandilla voxura where they satirized various members from Vox such as Santiago Abascal, Macarena Olona or Javier Ortega Smith. In response to this publication, the official Vox Twitter account called on citizens to demand responsibility when they see Ricardo Rodrigo Amar, the president of the magazine's publishing group, leave his office. RBA, which led to demonstrations of support for El Jueves from other journalistic and political outlets.

Authors

List of cartoonists, scriptwriters and writers who collaborate or have collaborated regularly in the magazine: